Straw burning ban efforts must also adhere to combining restriction with guidance.

During every busy farming season, walking through rural fields, one can see slogans banning straw burning everywhere and village officials patrolling the fields wearing red armbands that say "burning ban." In this year's "three autumns" period, this scene remains unchanged. People without rural work experience will certainly find it hard to understand the difficulties township officials face in straw burning ban work. (Guangming Online, October 8)

Straw burning and banning it is no longer a fresh topic. Many years ago, many places began straw burning ban work. As the child of a farming family, the author has deep feelings about straw burning bans as well. In the past, straw was fuel for farmers to cook with; now, many households use electricity and gas. Large amounts of straw not only have nowhere to be stacked, but after being hauled back and placed in front of or behind the house, it affects one's own household sanitation, and hauling it is laborious, time-consuming and costly. In the view of farmers, burning it in one go as fertilizer saves both time and effort.

Burning straw at will will "add frost to snow" for air pollution and will also create safety hazards such as fires. However, despite repeated bans, straw burning continues because villagers simply want to make some fertilizer conveniently and quickly, save some money and save a bit of time. Their wish, and nothing more, is not satisfied. On one side is the people's desire to save trouble, time and effort; on the other side is the pressure of the burning ban order and officials' tireless persuasion. Under this dilemma, the people and officials are placed in a state of "confrontation."

First, farmers saying they do not know about the "burning ban order" does not mean our officials have not publicized it well. At present, as various places gradually enter harvest season, banning straw burning has become an important task for grassroots officials. Many local governments have issued local regulations and even brought out the "one-vote veto" as a "killer move" to manage this work. The slogan "Do not light a single fire, do not let a single wisp of smoke rise" often rings in people's ears, and "strengthen leadership, guard strictly and defend to the death, strictly order a burning ban" often appears in newspapers, but the results are minimal. In addition, our township officials work at the grassroots level and do not have only straw burning bans as a task. The government does not have enough channels to ensure the reasonable use of this straw, so straw burning becomes unavoidable. Air pollution is still not reduced, and the large amounts of manpower, material resources and financial resources invested in banning straw burning are also wasted.

Second, straw burning bans are emphasized and publicized every year. It is not that farmers do not know that straw burning pollutes the air environment and harms human health; the reasons behind it are also helpless choices. Some places provide subsidies for banning straw burning and fines for burning straw. But when faced with subsidies and penalties, farming households still choose to burn straw. The reason is simple: on one hand, the subsidy standard is too low, and the gap with the cost of harvesting and transporting straw is large. On the other hand, crop planting is seasonal, and if straw is not burned at the right time, farming time will be delayed, and the next season's crop harvest will be greatly reduced. Even a fine of a few dozen yuan is of no help, and burning straw still becomes farmers' first choice.

Third, straw burning bans cannot be handled by simply banning. They also require "combining guidance with restriction." Rather than strictly prohibiting farmers from burning straw, it would be better to find a good destination for straw and turn waste into treasure. Local governments must increase efforts in scientific and technological innovation. Not only must they work hard on banning straw burning and add investment, they also need to strengthen source governance, innovate in the research and development of crop varieties, innovate in the methods of disposing of crop straw, and innovate in the ways crops are used, strengthening the management of banning crop straw burning in rural areas through multiple channels and all directions.

Realizing, safeguarding and developing farmers' interests is not only the foundation for doing a good job in straw burning ban work, but also an important prerequisite for doing a good job in rural work. Local governments must truly start from farmers' needs and let farmers receive real benefits; only then can they truly gain farmers' support. If there is "only restriction without guidance" or "only guidance without restriction," with publicity shouted every year and burning bans shouted every year, without the determination and sincerity to truly solve the problem, then every May the sky will still be "shrouded in smoke."